David Lean Cinema prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary

Posted on January 29, 2020 by insidecroydon

Given the huge efforts of the volunteers of the Save the David Lean Cinema Campaign, who managed to secure the future of the arts house venue in the Croydon Clocktower after its closure due to austerity cuts, this year’s 25th anniversary of the cinema’s original opening is well worthy of celebration.

A true part of the borough’s cultural  heritage, taking its name from one of this country’s greatest ever film directors, the Croydon-born Sir David Lean, the 60-seat venue continues to offer a rich mix of Hollywood blockbusters and lesser-well-publicised films.

And to help mark the 25th anniversary, the first film being screened in March is Be Natural, a documentary about one of the pioneers of early cinema, Alice Guy-Blaché. Narrated by Jodie Foster, the film will be followed – as so many of the more interesting David Lean Cinema screenings are – by a Question and Answer session. Continue reading →

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Frank Harmer Memorial 10km, Brockwell Park, Mar 1

Posted on January 29, 2020 by insidecroydon

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Croydon Tories in call for public inquiry into Brick by Brick

Posted on January 28, 2020 by insidecroydon

Croydon Tories have appealed to a government minister to hold an urgent inquiry into the running of Brick by Brick, the council’s in-house house-builders.

Lynne Hale: worried about Brick by Brick

The call was made public at last night’s meeting of the full council by Tim Pollard, the leader of the Town Hall’s opposition Conservative group, and Lynne Hale, their housing spokesperson.

It comes following mounting concerns about the nature of the loss-making firm, which is wholly owned by Croydon Council and which has managed to build just three council flats in five years.

Despite receiving more than £260million in loans from the council, Brick by Brick is now unable to sell properties under shared ownership schemes because, as was exclusively revealed by Inside Croydon, no one at the company bothered to get registered as an approved supplier, as is routinely required by the major mortgage firms and lenders. Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Jo Negrini, Lynne Hale, Planning, Sanderstead, Tim Pollard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Newman fails to deny that Fairfield Halls bill has reached £60m

Posted on January 28, 2020 by insidecroydon

The refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls could end up costing Croydon’s Council Tax-payers £60million – or even more.

More than a year late, unfinished and incomplete, now it looks as if the Fairfield Halls refurb cost £60m-plus

And there are fears within the town’s arts circles that BH Live, the events and management firm brought in by venue owners Croydon Council to run the centre, could even quit their agreement over their increasing dissatisfaction with the quality of the refurbishment work and finish.

The soaring costs were the shock revelation of last night’s meeting of the full council in the Town Hall chamber, where the Labour council leader Tony Newman – in a performance which was perhaps the very definition of kakistocracy – was unable to deny that the refurbishment on the Fairfield Halls had managed to reach double the original £30million budget for the works.

The Fairfield Halls arts centre was closed in June 2016 for what was supposed to be a two-year, £30million refurbishment project. A council report, presented in November 2016, listed three “lead officers” (most projects have but one council executive in charge), including the council’s £220,000 per year chief executive, Jo “We’re Not Stupid” Negrini.

To manage the project, the council put its in-house house-builders Brick by Brick in charge, a company with no track record in building homes, never mind extensive and complicated refurbishment projects on heritage buildings. It is a decision which could be costing Croydon residents for decades to come. Continue reading →

Posted in Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Paula Murray, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Talk: The Royal Ritual of Death, Upper Norwood, Feb 10

Posted on January 28, 2020 by insidecroydon

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Negrini’s legacy on housing is also costing Newham millions

Posted on January 27, 2020 by insidecroydon

Loss-making Brick by Brick failing to meet its targets for delivering affordable housing. Surprised, you say?

There’s no reason to be surprised, because it was entirely predictable, and across London, in Newham, a very similar in-house house-building scheme is also failing to deliver the kind of housing that the local politicians solemnly promised that it would.

It was being reported last month that Newham Council had admitted that its housing company will not meet the 50 per cent affordable target set by mayor Rokhsana Fiaz (yes, they have an independently elected mayor…) in its next round of development. Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, London-wide issues, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Threat of bus strike as 1 in 3 drivers in ‘close call’ due to fatigue

Posted on January 27, 2020 by insidecroydon

More than three years since the Croydon tram crash saw ‘driver fatigue’ raised as a possible cause of the disaster, now bus drivers are threatening strike action over concerns for the safety of their passengers and themselves. RORY KELLY reports

London Bus drivers may go on strike due to the “chronic fatigue” some are suffering under demanding work schedules.

Drivers’ union Unite are to ballot their 20,000 members for a possible strike to highlight the growing concerns, while calling for better breaks and ensuring that drivers finish their shifts on time. Continue reading →

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Come And Sing with Downland Chorale, Sanderstead, Feb 15

Posted on January 26, 2020 by insidecroydon

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The Great NHS Heist, plus Q&A, Ruskin House, Feb 13

Posted on January 26, 2020 by insidecroydon

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Newman stifles report which alleges conspiracy over selection

Posted on January 25, 2020 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on a leaked report over the rumbling row in Croydon Labour over a selection stitch-up that saw Tony Newman’s favoured candidate put forward for last November’s Fairfield council by-election

The fix is in: Tony Newman

A internal party report, leaked to Inside Croydon, alleges that there was a conspiracy between senior Croydon Labour councillors and officials, headed by Tony Newman, to make sure that a hand-picked colleague was installed as their party’s candidate in last November’s Fairfield by-election.

Newman has already been under fire for his handling of the resignation last September of Councillor Niro Sirisena, after what Croydon Labour described as a “serious incident”, which caused the ward by-election to be held. Although Newman was made aware of allegations of a serious assault by one of his councillors, his first action was not to report the matter to the police but to meet Sirisena and secure his resignation from the council.

And now Newman, the leader of Croydon Council, has done his utmost to avoid having to answer to the allegations in this latest report, which was drafted by a retired solicitor and long-standing Labour official who was shocked and saddened by the manner in which Jose Joseph, the by-election candidate who had been democratically selected by local members, was shunted aside for Newman’s favoured candidate. Continue reading →

Posted in Caragh Skipper, Chris Clark, Croydon Central, David White, Fairfield, Jose Joseph, Niro Sirisena, Sarah Jones MP, Tony Newman, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Blue plaque for Albert Hill, Tooting’s unsung Olympic hero

Posted on January 25, 2020 by insidecroydon

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Westfield now holding Croydon to ransom over business rates

Posted on January 24, 2020 by insidecroydon

Just how big a bribe, a “bung” if you prefer, of public cash is it going to take to get Westfield and their supermall partners to finally get to work on their Barwell-inspired, Tory-backed shopping centre scheme in Croydon Town Centre?

Sarah Jones: making special  pleading for rates relief for big business

That’s the only remaining question, surely, after Sarah Jones, the Labour MP for Croydon Central, this week secured the agreement for a meeting over the parlous state of her constituency’s high street with the Conservative government’s business minister, Andrea Leadsom. Cuts in business rates are firmly on the agenda.

Referring to the long-promised temple to consumerism in typically public schoolgirl language as “fabulous”, Jones told the House of Commons, “Westfield is set to open a fabulous new shopping centre in Croydon, but the French owner of Westfield, Unibail-Rodamco, is worried about business rates, the state of retail and the impact of Brexit.

“Will the Secretary of State please meet representatives of Westfield and Unibail-Rodamco to talk about some of those concerns?” Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Sarah Jones MP, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Oh calamity! Negrini’s not worried about 6/11 high risk ratings

Posted on January 24, 2020 by insidecroydon

The council’s finances have gone into  the red zone, according to CIPFA, and Croydon now has £1.4bn debt, the third-highest of any council in the country. But the Town Hall CEO says it is nothing to be concerned about.
By KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter

Croydon Council’s £220,000 per year chief executive Jo Negrini has told the local government’s parish magazine that she’s “not sitting back waiting for calamity to hit”, despite the local authority where she has been in charge since 2016 being rated at high risk in six out of 11 categories by a nationally recognised finance and accountancy organisation.

Jo Negrini

Jo Negrini has led Croydon Council to high-risk status, according to CIPFA

Anyone note just a hint of complacency?

According to CIPFA, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, Croydon is rated as “high risk” on six out of 11 of the indicators on their resilience index, including levels of reserves, rate of depletion of reserves, proportion of budget spent on social care and levels of debt.

CIPFA also has an adverse auditor’s opinion, which is judged by them to be an indicator of potentially poor governance.

As well as dangerously depleting the council’s reserves, Negrini’s council has managed to build up a mountain of debt, including at least £900million from the Treasury through the Public Works Loans Board, using the money to fund its ill-managed Brick by Brick housing scheme and the over-priced purchase of local commercial property. Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Get in the running for Croydon’s Race for Life on July 5

Posted on January 24, 2020 by insidecroydon

Fun runners, racers, joggers and those who want to get a bit fitter and raise cash for charity have just one week left to register for this year’s Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life in Croydon and still be eligible to claim a 30 per cent discount on their entry fee.

The events are returning to Lloyd Park in 2020, but are no longer restricted to women.

This means everybody can be part of the empowering Race for Life movement – and show support for the 33,800 people diagnosed with cancer every year in London. Continue reading →

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Petition for elected mayor hits 7,000 before campaign launch

Posted on January 23, 2020 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on how a campaign based on the premise that there is ‘a serious and urgent need for a better democracy in the way Croydon Council is run’, has already got half the signatures it needs for a borough-wide referendum before next month’s launch event

It is a sign of how disliked and distrusted Croydon Labour leader Tony Newman and his council’s controversial planning policies have become that a mailshot sent to borough residents offering an alternative system got a response rate more than 10 times greater than similar lobbying exercises typically expect.

Would you vote for this man? Tony Newman

A petition calling for Croydon to have a directly elected mayor is now halfway towards the 15,000-signature target, which if achieved would force the council to stage a borough-wide referendum on the proposal – something which “man of the people” Newman has gone out of his way to block and frustrate.

And the formal “launch” of the directly elected mayor campaign has yet to be staged.

The meeting is being staged on Wednesday, February 5, at Christchurch Primary School, Montpelier Road, Purley, CR8 2QE, from 8.15pm.

The directly elected mayor campaign has already drawn support from a wide political range in the borough, including senior Labour figures, Tory MP Chris Philp, and even some from the far-right who still go into a blood vessel-busting frenzy whenever the word “referendum” gets a mention.

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Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sign up for Purley Swimathon to raise funds for your cause

Posted on January 23, 2020 by insidecroydon

“Don’t delay – enter a team today” is the message from the organisers of this year’s Purley Rotary’s Swimathon, being staged at Purley Pool on Saturdays March 7 and 14.

Deadline for entries is February 8 and full details, including the downloadable entry form, are available at www.purleyrotary.com. Continue reading →

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Patronised residents decry Scott’s planning committee ‘farce’

Posted on January 22, 2020 by insidecroydon

Croydon Council’s planning committee is “a farce”, and “an avenue for Councillor Scott to push through his anti-suburbia agenda”.

The five-storey block of flats that the planning committee chair said its neighbours would come to like…

That – referring to Paul Scott, the Labour councillor who is all-powerful on planning matters in Croydon – is the strongly held view of the chair of a large residents’ group in Purley following a meeting last month. The meeting voted to grant permission to build a large block of flats to a private developer whose directors include the wife of a senior Croydon planning officials. No declaration of the relationship between developers’ director and her council planner husband was made until the day of the planning meeting – and long after the planning department had drafted a glowing report in favour of the development.

The Foxley Residents’ Association is now considering taking the matter to the High Court under a Judicial Review to stop the development of a five-storey block of 40 flats in a street which otherwise comprises large family houses. Continue reading →

Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Paul Scott, Planning, Purley, Toni Letts | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mind in Croydon carers counselling sessions for 2020

Posted on January 22, 2020 by insidecroydon

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Croydon Beer Festival, Braithwaite Hall, Feb 28-Mar 1

Posted on January 21, 2020 by insidecroydon

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Lillians Law Trust fund-raiser, The Warren, Hayes, Jun 27

Posted on January 20, 2020 by insidecroydon

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CAMRA South Norwood Beer Festival, Stanley Halls, Feb 6-8

Posted on January 20, 2020 by insidecroydon

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John McDonnell: Next steps for Labour, Ruskin House, Feb 11

Posted on January 19, 2020 by insidecroydon

Croydon TUC and Croydon Assembly open meeting

Next steps for Labour
Speaker: John McDonnell MP

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

Tuesday February 11, 7.30pm
Ruskin House
23 Coombe Road, CR0 1BD Continue reading →

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The cow that changed history and other talks, Purley Lit

Posted on January 19, 2020 by insidecroydon

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Brick by Brick fail to apologise for shared ownership bungling

Posted on January 18, 2020 by insidecroydon

Brick by Brick, the loss-making council-owned house-builder, last night finally ended their silence and admitted that they are not able to sell homes under any shared ownership schemes.

Seven days after Inside Croydon broke the news that Brick by Brick had failed to register themselves as an approved provider of shared ownership homes, the company published a statement on its website in which they tried to shift the blame for their gross administrative failure. They claimed that banks and building societies had “imposed additional criteria” before providing mortgages on their shared ownership properties.

This, of course, is weapons-grade bullshit, since all providers of shared ownership homes understand that they require a registration as a supplier for their customers to be able to secure mortgages from lenders. Brick by Brick, which has received more than £260million in loans via Croydon Council, has been in business now for almost five years. Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Athletic cleared over racism allegations in Fisher match

Posted on January 18, 2020 by insidecroydon

There could be serious recriminations for a team of non-league footballers who walked off the pitch mid-game in Thornton Heath last month after the London FA handed down a ruling which cleared AFC Croydon Athletic and their players of all allegations of having abused their opponents racially.

Croydon Athletic say that they feel vindicated by the ruling.

The match, in the South East Counties League Premier Division on December 28, had to be abandoned after an hour when all the players from Fisher quit the pitch at Athletic’s Mayfield Road ground. Athletic were leading 3-1 at the time, and Fisher had already had one player sent off. Continue reading →

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